Thursday, 3 April 2014

Cost: A 5 course
tasting menu is offered for £39 pp (or £69 with five matched sparkling wines/Champagnes).On the à la carte menu, small plates are from
£8.50 to £9.50 (although there is a blow-out dish of 30g Finnish Baerii caviar
for £95). Salads are £6.50, sides including Mac & Cheese or hand cut chips
are from £2.50 to £4.50. Desserts are all £6.50.

About: Tirage is
a new restaurant and Champagne bar that opened in early 2014. Just a stone's
throw from Liverpool Street Station and the Heron Tower with its Sushi Samba
and Duck & Waffle restaurants, it joins a number of local eateries that are
bringing a real foodie vibe to this otherwise rather corporate area of the
City.

Venezuelan Elio
Machillanda, a former City worker, has put his life and soul into this new
venture in collaboration with Michelin-starred restaurateur David Moore (of Pied
à Terre, L'Autre Pied and pop-up Pied Nus reviewed here), the concept of the
restaurant being to partner good quality small eats with Champagnes and
sparkling wines by the glass.

Sommelier
Roberto Della Pietra, formerly of Gaultier Soho, spent 6 months prior to the launch
of the restaurant researching and planning a Champagne list that would
complement a range of aperitif, fish and meat dishes by Head Chef Alasdair
Fraser, and developing set menus partnering small eats and Champagne. And his
work has paid off – the list includes a range of Champagnes and sparkling
wines, twenty of which are available by the glassincluding some gems I have never encountered
before such as a rare Russian sparkly. But more of that later.

I had the
pleasure of spending a few days with Roberto on a wine press trip to Somontano
in Spain last year (reviewed here), and was impressed by his knowledge of the wines of that
region, and by his acute but uncomplicated approach to wine.

The house
champagne is supplied by Perrier Jouët, which also has an eponymous dining room
for up to 12 guests suitable for business or private functions. The first floor
has a private bar and dedicated kitchen catering for up to 100 guests.

The head chef is
Alasdair Fraser (formerly of Kensington's The Abingdon), who has created a
French menu with Peruvian touches for Tirage.

What We Ate/Drank:
We went for the 5 course tasting menu with a matching flight of Champagnes and
sparkling wines. We started with a glass of house Champagne from Perrier Jouët,
which was elegantly refreshing. The menu kicked off with 3 of the freshest rock
oysters from Colchester, simply served with a thick wedge of lemon and a red
wine vinegar and shallot dressing.

With the oysters
came a glass of Drappier "Sans Ajout de Soufre" zero dosage
Champagne.Having no added sugar, this
had a bracing minerality, well balancing the ocean flavours of the shellfish.

Next was a
Cornish scallop ceviche, with caramelised Jerusalem artichoke purée, prosciutto
powder, kaffir lime, pomegranate and sorrel flower reduction. This was a gorgeous
dish both in the presentation and the palate, with freshness and a thrilling
combination of flavours and textures.

To accompany the
ceviche, the sommelier's choice was a Duetz Champagne Brut Classic. Owned by
Louis Roederer, it had a fine toasty nose and elegant structure, which has prompted
the likes of Serena Sutcliffe, Master of Wine, to call it "the Champagne
for people in the know".

To follow, there
was a pan-fried seabass, with an Asian-scented seed crust, white crab emulsion,
broccoli and curry oil.I loved this
dish, and the seabass,
having been cured, roasted and then pan fried was tender, well flavoured and
perfectly cooked. The Devon crab had been emulsified with spices, and was
richly flavoured.

Roberto has chosen a rare Russian sparkling wine for this
dish, and it had plenty of richness and spice to stand up to the fish. The most unusual
(but also one of the most delicious) sparkling wines of the evening, and the
only one that was not a Champagne, this was the Abrau-Durso "Cuvée
Alexander II" NV from the Krasnodar region of Russia. Made from a blend of
riesling, pinot noir, pinot blanc
and chardonnay grapes, this had a magnificent spicy, clove nose and had green
apple, lime and mint on the palate, easily withstanding the Asian spice in the
fish dish. A revelation!

Our fourth dish was pan-fried, “ethically
produced” foie gras. Served with caramelised pear, chilli popcorn and blinis,
it was delicious. Whereas geese have to be force-fed to produce foie gras, the
ducks used to produce “ethical” foie gras are naturally greedy and will eat more
than their fair share particularly just prior to (planned) migration. This
fattens their livers naturally, and the resulting dish was as creamy as any I
have tried, with the crunchy chilli popcorn giving a contrasting texture.

With
it, we had the Champagne Michel Furdyna NV Rose, from Celles sur Ource.Made from 100% pinot noir, this was a well-structured,
muscular wine with enough weight of fruit to hold its own against the unctuous
liver.

The final dish on
the tasting menu was a venison haunch confit.Served with an acorn squash purée, chimichurri sauce and barbecued cauliflower,
this was excellent with perfectly tender venison.I did not see how a Champagne could stand up to this richest of gamey meats, but once again the sommelier
confounded expectations and came up with a magnificent example, with a depth of
structure that only became apparent after eating the meat.

This was a truly
splendid glass of Coulon Premier
Cru NV.Roger Coulon is unusual in
planting pinot meunier on as much as 40% of his vineyards, but this Champagne
demonstrates the advantage of the grape in giving a tremendous depth of
structure. With a fine nose of brioche, at the first brush with the palate it
concealed its power beneath a surface elegance. However, when tasted with the
venison, it revealed remarkably complex layers of luscious green fruit flavour,
lemony acidity and minerality.

Note that
desserts are not part of the set menu, and we ordered them separately. We had a
flourless chocolate and blueberry gateau and chocolate sauce, and also a pink Champagne
and mango cheesecake with peach and Champagne sauce.

Both were delectable, and
well complemented by a glass of fruity, moderately sweet Italian Moscato.

Likes: The
small-eats style of restaurant, which allows sampling of a wide range of
textures and flavours, and an extensive and really interesting Champagne menu,
at a surprisingly reasonable price for its easily accessible location. A
tasting menu of this quality in the City with five Champagnes or sparkling
wines at £69 per person is, I think, amazingly good value.

Dislikes: None

Verdict: A truly innovative
partnering of modern French-Peruvian cuisine with an outstanding list of
Champagnes and sparkling wines. Tirage's tasting menu partnering food with
Champagnes is magnificent, and one of the best value in the City. Highly
recommended.

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Born in Brazil to Japanese and Italian parents, educated in the UK, a true Londoner. Former investment banker turned Cordon Bleu trained chef, food, wine and travel writer, Japanophile and Supper Club host in Islington.

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